KIDS LOVE HALLOWEEN CANDY. SO WHY ARE THEY CHOOSING POTATOES?

The Idaho Potato Commission takes the potato-versus-candy showdown nationwide.

See the results and check out footage from across the country in the Idaho Potatoes Press Room: Link

EAGLE, Idaho, Nov. 1, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- Halloween is the one night of the year when candy rules. Chocolate bars, gummy bears, peanut butter cups. But could a potato actually compete? The Idaho Potato Commission decided to find out.

On October 31, 15 households across 13 states, from Alaska to Massachusetts, participated in a national Trick or Tater experiment. The rules: Trick-or-treaters had to choose between Halloween candy and a genuine Idaho potato.

To keep score, the Commission developed the "Idaho Trick or Tater Indicator", an experiment to test whether America's love of Idaho potatoes could rival its love of Halloween candy.

The verdict? Candy had competition.

In Pennsylvania, longtime Halloween potato-giver Patrick Foy handed out 200 pounds of Idaho potatoes in just 97 minutes, running out while candy remained. For over two decades, Foy has offered trick-or-treaters a candy-or-potato choice, using Idaho potatoes from the very beginning.

In Fargo, North Dakota, Idaho potatoes beat candy by more than two to one at Kayla Dornfeld's home. Trick-or-treaters chose 137 potatoes compared with just 67 pieces of candy.

Candy held its Halloween crown at first-time participant Kinsey Amezcua's home in Idaho, with 73 takers compared with 28 for potatoes. Still, more than one in four trick-or-treaters picked a spud—a turnout that surprised even the Idahoan. With everyone having a blast, she's eager to do it again next year.

And the numbers tell only part of the story. Kids held potatoes overhead like trophies, shouted "POTATOES!" and ran down neighborhood streets spreading the word that someone was handing out spuds.

This year's Idaho potato-versus-candy experiment brought together a colorful cast of participants: Alaska pastor Matt Schultz, whose home is known as the "potato house"; Nebraska emo rocker Branden Pierce Sahs, better known as "King Pumpkin Man"; Colorado children's author and illustrator Kaz Windness, who drew faces on her potatoes and offered them up for adoption as pets; and a California family whose participants ranged from 87-year-old Great Grandpa Norm, who worked on the Apollo missions, to Terri, their desert tortoise.

The Idaho Potato Commission supplied participating households with Idaho potatoes and Halloween candy. The choices and reactions were up to the trick-or-treaters.

Want in next year? Visit IdahoPotato.com/trick-or-tater to share your story and join the 2027 Trick or Tater team.

About the Idaho Potato Commission

Established in 1937, IPC is a state agency responsible for promoting and protecting the famous "Grown in Idaho®" seal, a federally registered certification mark that assures consumers they are purchasing genuine, top-quality Idaho® potatoes. Idaho's growing season of warm days and cool nights, ample mountain-fed irrigation, and rich volcanic soil give Idaho potatoes their unique texture, taste, and dependable performance. These ideal growing conditions differentiate them from potatoes grown in other states. For more information, visit IdahoPotato.com.

SOURCE Idaho Potato Commission